


Hidden in Scythed Grass

by Anonymous



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pokemon Fusion, First Meetings, Gen, pre-Abigail/Female Farmer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-06 14:06:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20292697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Abigail’s first impression of the new farmer isn’t great—up until it is.(Stardew Valley + Pokemon AU.)





	Hidden in Scythed Grass

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Serie11](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serie11/gifts).

> Inspired by these lines from when the player first meets Abigail:
>
>> _“Oh that's right...I heard someone new was moving onto that old farm.  
It's kind of a shame, really. I always enjoyed exploring those overgrown fields by myself.”_

It wasn’t that Abigail _forgot_ about the new farmer coming to Pelican Town. That would’ve been kind of hard to do, what with how the whole town—and especially her father, who’d gone starry-eyed and wild at the prospect of a new customer—had been abuzz with the news since the first letter came.

Still. When she stepped out from the familiar path heading down to the fields and found that a good fifth of the land had been cleared of weeds and most of the trees, a cold, unpleasant feeling that felt very much like shock splashed down over her body. 

As though sensing her mood, her Haunter floated down to perch on her shoulder and pressed its face in her hair. It didn’t make her feel any warmer, of course, but it did bring a small smile back to her face. She turned her head, rubbing her face together with Haunter’s, before turning back to look over the fields.

She didn’t see anyone. The sun was growing high in the sky; maybe the new farmer had taken a break for lunch? Seeing her chance, she decided to go scope out the extent of the changes. 

The dirt was broken up and rocky beneath her feet. Clearly, the farmer hadn’t gotten around to removing the stones from the fields yet. Haunter stayed by her shoulder as she walked, instead of rushing out to play like it usually did. Abigail stepped around some holes where some ground-type Pokemon clearly had been burrowing, remembering how she’d sprained an ankle more than once by tripping over similar holes when the ground had been choked with weeds. She’d gotten so many scoldings from her parents...

At first, she couldn’t figure out the reasoning for why the farmer had chopped down some trees and left others standing—not until she drew closer and realized that all the remaining trees were the ones filled with nests of Combee, Pineco, and Burmy. One of the Combee fluttered out after her, investigating, until Haunter turned to look at it. Abigail didn’t see the face it made, but it was enough to send the Combee rushing back to the safety of the leaves.

Haunter shook with silent laughter.

A strange sound caught Abigail’s ear. She pulled her attention away from her Haunter and the Combee, and saw that the new farmer hadn’t gone inside for lunch after all. At least, she assumed she was the new farmer; she couldn’t think of any other stranger who would spend her time cutting weeds away from the fields with a scythe. 

She couldn’t see much—only a long braid falling down her back. The new farmer hadn’t seen her yet. 

_Whisk._

_Whisk._

A flock of Starly fluttered out from the weeds, taking to the skies. The farmer made a sharp, distressed sound and halted, dropping to her knees. There was a black and grey bundle in the grass before her; as Abigail drew closer, she realized that it was another Starly—one that hadn’t flown away. For a moment, she wondered if the farmer had nicked it with her scythe, but the Starly wasn’t bleeding. It just looked… sick. 

Biting her lip, the farmer carefully gathered it up in her hands. Unusually for a wild Pokemon, it didn’t struggle at all. She stood back up—and jumped when she saw Abigail standing there. 

Which was the same moment when Abigail realized that technically, she was trespassing. 

She knew that the polite thing to do would be to introduce herself. But—

“Doctor Harvey’s really great with Pokemon,” she blurted out instead. “He’s technically just doctor for humans, but we don’t have any trained for Pokemon here, and he did an amazing job when my Haunter ate my rock collection. I could show you the way to his place, if you want? It’s hard to miss—just down that path and to the left.”

Relief swept over the farmer’s face. She had, Abigail couldn’t help but notice, really cute freckles. “That would be great.”

* * *

It wasn’t until several hours later, after the farmer departed from Harvey’s office carrying a newly revived Starly who seemed determined to snuggle into her arms like it thought they could fuse into one being, that it occurred to Abigail that they still didn’t know each other’s name. 

Well, it wasn’t like it mattered all that much. This was a small town; they’d meet again sooner or later. More importantly…

It was still a shame to think about those old overgrown fields being tamed, but something inside her lightened when she thought about how the farmer had carefully avoided cutting down the trees which Pokemon had made their homes—of how gently she’d cared for that wild Starly. 

“I guess it could be worse,” she said to Haunter. 

After all, anyone who cared that much about Pokemon… they couldn’t be all that bad.


End file.
